Dirty Places, Part 6: Dirty Movies
Movie theaters can be a major source of infectious disease spread. Theaters are crowded, often with people who may be ill. Children's movies are probably worse if anyone ever chose to test this assumption. Since many viral infectious diseases are contagious a day BEFORE you know you are sick, microorganisms can be innocently spread.
I can't imagine how many people use those same seats day after day without any disinfectant ever touching them. I would be shocked if those seats and seat arms are ever cleaned. During the winter cold and flu season, it is not uncommon to hear a cacophony of coughs echoing throughout the auditorium. An uncovered cough or sneeze can spray fresh microorganisms several rows away.
This is not an innocent spread of disease, but rather a form of urban biological terrorism. During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, movie theaters in all major cities were closed.
Then, of course, there are the movie bathrooms that literally see a stampede of yellow-eyed urinators after each movie. In most theaters, the bathrooms are surprisingly clean-looking, but germ-laden nonetheless. My personal experience is limited to the men's room, which I rarely use.
Because of my childhood days of having outhouses at our Junior High School, I have developed an iron bladder, but after those huge $5.00 colas, even iron bladders starts to strain. It is fortunate that men's urinals are much more hygienic than sitting on a toilet seat - a distinct anatomical advantage that men enjoy.
Dave Barry wrote a piece about urinal etiquette that I would like to share. He talked about a bank of five urinals - A, B, C, D, and E. The first man enters and goes to urinal A (or E). The next man automatically heads for the one on the opposite end. Man #3 will go to urinal C. If a 4th man approaches the bank of urinals, he may likely hesitate using urinals B and D, often called the "buffer urinals", and may be forced to use the more-contaminated and much-feared stall.
The floors surrounding the urinals and the stalls are usually sticky with stray pee, often the result of visual impaired men with poor aim, or boys who really don't care. Urine is considered sterile, but no one really wants to step on it, look at it, smell it, or have their shoes stick to it.
It would take a dire intestinal emergency for a man to sit on the toilet, which is usually not flushed. There is nothing worse than a toilet not flushed, except maybe, a warm toilet seat recently vacated by a dubious-looking guy. Those paper seat covers do not work with those automatic flushing toilets. Every time that you carefully lay out that thin, paper seat cover, it flushes before you get to use it.
Movie-users are not big hand-washers (I notice these things). Either they are rushing back to the movie, or trying to avoid the traffic jam in the parking lot, but that two-second cosmetic wash is not going to do anything. Bathroom stall door locks have got to be one of the more contaminated areas of the movie toilet, namely because they are always opened with unwashed fingers.
It makes sense to only open these doors with a wad of toilet paper. Bathroom doors always open inward, so you would need to grab on that worn, metal door handle in order to exit, OR, you patiently wait until someone comes in and then you can jump through the door before it closes again. I have gotten many a stare as I leap through those brief openings. If no one comes in, I have to open it with some paper towels (assuming there are paper towels and not that worthless hand dryer).
Since I work 12 hour shifts in my clinic, I have two days off during the week. If I choose to go to a movie, I will do it during one of these mid-week afternoons when the crowds are sparse and kids are in school. Not only is the theater nearly empty, I can have a choice of seats without fear of a tall, big-haired person plopping in front of me, or some very obese person encroaching into my seat space.
By the way, in absence of a buffer seat, which seat arm is really considered yours? I can usually out-maneuver my wife, but strangers are a different matter. I guess you just have to wait until they move their arm and quickly take possession.
Disease prevention can be as easy as 1-2-3.
And, if you do get sick, just tell your medical provider that you must have caught it at a dirty movie.
Related Topics: Academy-Award Winning Movie Snacks, Top 9 Jobs Where Bacteria Thrive
Technorati Tags: dirty places, dirt, movies
If you're just now joining us, you'll want to read Public Toilets (part 1), Airplanes (part 2), Your Doctor's Office (part 3), Hotels and Motels (part 4), and Restaurants (part 5)
I can't imagine how many people use those same seats day after day without any disinfectant ever touching them. I would be shocked if those seats and seat arms are ever cleaned. During the winter cold and flu season, it is not uncommon to hear a cacophony of coughs echoing throughout the auditorium. An uncovered cough or sneeze can spray fresh microorganisms several rows away.
This is not an innocent spread of disease, but rather a form of urban biological terrorism. During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, movie theaters in all major cities were closed.
Then, of course, there are the movie bathrooms that literally see a stampede of yellow-eyed urinators after each movie. In most theaters, the bathrooms are surprisingly clean-looking, but germ-laden nonetheless. My personal experience is limited to the men's room, which I rarely use.
Because of my childhood days of having outhouses at our Junior High School, I have developed an iron bladder, but after those huge $5.00 colas, even iron bladders starts to strain. It is fortunate that men's urinals are much more hygienic than sitting on a toilet seat - a distinct anatomical advantage that men enjoy.
Dave Barry wrote a piece about urinal etiquette that I would like to share. He talked about a bank of five urinals - A, B, C, D, and E. The first man enters and goes to urinal A (or E). The next man automatically heads for the one on the opposite end. Man #3 will go to urinal C. If a 4th man approaches the bank of urinals, he may likely hesitate using urinals B and D, often called the "buffer urinals", and may be forced to use the more-contaminated and much-feared stall.
The floors surrounding the urinals and the stalls are usually sticky with stray pee, often the result of visual impaired men with poor aim, or boys who really don't care. Urine is considered sterile, but no one really wants to step on it, look at it, smell it, or have their shoes stick to it.
It would take a dire intestinal emergency for a man to sit on the toilet, which is usually not flushed. There is nothing worse than a toilet not flushed, except maybe, a warm toilet seat recently vacated by a dubious-looking guy. Those paper seat covers do not work with those automatic flushing toilets. Every time that you carefully lay out that thin, paper seat cover, it flushes before you get to use it.
Movie-users are not big hand-washers (I notice these things). Either they are rushing back to the movie, or trying to avoid the traffic jam in the parking lot, but that two-second cosmetic wash is not going to do anything. Bathroom stall door locks have got to be one of the more contaminated areas of the movie toilet, namely because they are always opened with unwashed fingers.
It makes sense to only open these doors with a wad of toilet paper. Bathroom doors always open inward, so you would need to grab on that worn, metal door handle in order to exit, OR, you patiently wait until someone comes in and then you can jump through the door before it closes again. I have gotten many a stare as I leap through those brief openings. If no one comes in, I have to open it with some paper towels (assuming there are paper towels and not that worthless hand dryer).
Since I work 12 hour shifts in my clinic, I have two days off during the week. If I choose to go to a movie, I will do it during one of these mid-week afternoons when the crowds are sparse and kids are in school. Not only is the theater nearly empty, I can have a choice of seats without fear of a tall, big-haired person plopping in front of me, or some very obese person encroaching into my seat space.
By the way, in absence of a buffer seat, which seat arm is really considered yours? I can usually out-maneuver my wife, but strangers are a different matter. I guess you just have to wait until they move their arm and quickly take possession.
Disease prevention can be as easy as 1-2-3.
- Wash and sanitize your hands frequently. Avoid touching your eyes or nose -- major entry points for disease organisms.
- Cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Droplets can travel four feet.
- If you are ill, stay home and watch a DVD.
And, if you do get sick, just tell your medical provider that you must have caught it at a dirty movie.
Related Topics: Academy-Award Winning Movie Snacks, Top 9 Jobs Where Bacteria Thrive
Technorati Tags: dirty places, dirt, movies
If you're just now joining us, you'll want to read Public Toilets (part 1), Airplanes (part 2), Your Doctor's Office (part 3), Hotels and Motels (part 4), and Restaurants (part 5)
29 Comments:
In reading all your "Dirty Places" posts, it's obvious you're an expert on this sort of thing. But I can't help feeling like all this information is overkill. We all agree that there are dirty people and places everywhere and the only way to avoid all of them would be to seal ourselves in a plastic bubble, breathing in our own recirculated air. But how much fun would that be? I'd like to think that exercising some common sense and leading as healthy a lifestyle I can stand will protect me from germs 98% of the time. I can also stand to get sick 1% out of my entire lifetime. And when the day comes that I meet that last 1% of the time and finally up and die, I'll be able to say I went to school, went to work, traveled, ate out, saw movies, got sick, got better, breathed deeply, and lived a full and happy life.
In response to the previous posting. I found this article very helpful. Coming from a transplant patients point of view not everyone has the luxery of being able to get sick and get better on their own. I personally need to know where to avoid to keep myself well and so do many other immunosupresed individuals. thank you for this article.
I lost my spleen in an auto accident in 1999. My doctor sent me to see an infectiuos disease specialist who gave me a pneumo vacine. a hep c vacine and a flu shot. The specialist then gave me an education on how to avoid germs as without a spleen if I got sick it could have unpleasant kinds consequences. I avoid touching things everywhere. I move away when I see someone sneeze or cough. At the doctor's office or a waiting room somewhere I always try to sit off to myself or tell the nurse or receptionist I'll be in the hallway. Needless to say I almost never get sick. I've waited more than once before getting on a elevator when someone coughed nearby. I don't want to get sick because without a spleen I can't manufacture as many white blood cells as I need. So the theories discussed here absolutely work..
I would like to respond to a few things here...
I work in a Mall, so I see the Most of all that go's around. I have done my own research, and Have found that 5 out of 10 persons using the bathroom do NOT wash their hands! (nice for the rest of us) 4 out of 10 people only briefly run water over their hands. (apparently they think going through the motions is enough, Humm... how many germs do you kill with only water?)
And Lastly that leaves 1 in 10 persons who actually use soap when washing their hands!
Perhaps the first person practices good hygean, but 9 out of 10 are NOT! and do you know what you are touching after them! Door Handles, Counter Tops, Some clothes, etc... Perhaps you think your safe, but you have no idea what the person before you had, before you just touched some common area. ( Hand railing, Trash Can lid, refreshment counter top, etc).
And who washes their hands after getting that nice large popcorn, and touching the returned money, and counter top?
Was that with butter and some germs please?
If there is a meal with finger food, I make sure I am first in, take my food and do not return (to get more food). I never eat peanuts, made freely available at a bar in the pub. At work I clean my personal mug and use paper towels rather than the teatowel. Am I neurotic about other people's dirtiness?
You seem very professional and knowledgable and really had me up until your "Not only is the theater nearly empty, I can have a choice of seats without fear of a tall, big-haired person plopping in front of me, or some very obese person encroaching into my seat space." comment. You strayed away from germs and facts to your obvious prejudice against certain physical types,not what one would expect in an article written by a someone who is a PA, with a PhD.Maybe your offensive fellow movie goers don't like to sit next to middle aged white men with germ sanitizer in one hand and the other holding himself because he has to wait to go potty :-)
have a good day !
You forgot to mention those mints at the register of every resturant so the customers can fresh breat after the meal. A couple of studies showed these to be full of E coli - more proff that people don't wash after using the bathroom.
Not an overkill....Just some advise to make people both aware of the risks, and of course, ways of protecting ourselves and others.
I certainly didn't want to sterotype individuals that are obese or have big hair. Sorry if you were offended. I still don't want to sit behind some tall, hair or not....or have someone's excess body fat hanging over my seat. Maybe it's me. Oh, and I am not a big fan of people with offense body odor, either. Just my opinion. I respect your right to sit anywhere you want in the theatre...I will sit where I want.
Thanks for reading the Blog...and making your comments. I will try and be more careful.
Oh, God! Not the mints!!. I love those things. Dang...now I am going to have to buy my own wrapped ones now.
Thanks a lot! Your comments are greatly appreciated.
OK the point was made but hey, it's a microbial world! Like the first person who commented said, what do we do "live in a bubble"? I actually heard that your immune system becomes stronger, "primed" is the word, when you are exposed to different types of germs that do not kill you. So take reasonable percaution but don't let it ruin your fun...
I have to tell you that this doesn't surprise me one bit. I'm very cautious when I take my kids to the movies. We go as far as tying our long hair up because my daughter got head lice from sitting in the movie theater about 5 years ago. I was not very happy to say the least!!
I got one too...you those candy machines that they have in the lobby or the arcade...warn the kids to wash their hands after playin with the games also try not to let your child have a candy from those candy machines even though it cost like 25 cents. There were studies shown that the candies in the machines can more than 5 years old..isn't that so gross!! The people running those machines don't empty the old candies out, they just add more to them. I love those candies in the machine, but know i just go out and buy them and sneak it in the theater...hehe...
Well i loved the article in that it gives all that is there to know and to take good care of Yourself.But, Have you ever wandered what it would be like if you are living in a theird world country? It is going to be a hell of trouble to take care of yourself away from germs cause it is almost everywhere. And if you are going to obay all the rules , you definetly are going to miss all the fun.
I agree with you that public bathrooms are filthy. I always put toilet paper or the paper liner on the seat, although that's more of an aesthetics issue than hygeine. But I don't worry much about the rest. Unless you're in a special situation like the transplant or missing spleen person, it is better to be exposed to some germs. You don't even have to get sick from it! I was sickly when I was young and almost died in my teens from double pneumonia - probably all due to second hand smoke from my parents. Now I'm in my late 50's and rarely sick. Why? Probably that Weight Watchers lifestyle which pushes you into a healthy, natural diet and some exercise. Also I've never smoked and I drink only moderately. Also avoid drugs - legal & illegal. A healthy lifestyle boosts your immune system. Also eliminates the food problem in movie theatres since all I'll buy is a diet coke and non-buttered popcorn. Most disease is lifestyle related since a healthy body can fight it off.
There are germs everywhere, how can anyone avoid coming in contact with them, it's in the air. Now, who can see it coming!! Go ahead and live!!
Thank you for the great article comfirming once more that I do right things in the bathroom and teach so my child.
About somebody's comment on people not using soap in the bathroom: i hope soon most bathrooms will switch to motion activated devices such as soap dispenser, water faucets, paper towel dispensers--which is somebody's great idea)to avoid touching all that after ten thousand people.
AS to a comment on THIRD WORLD COUNTRY problems--for American readers that do not know: in other countries people DID NOT eat in the cinemas. This is a bad American habit that is unfortunately getting spread as a result of globalization or fashion of wahtever it is. If peopel could refrain themselves from eating and drinking during watching a movie or a baseball game--there will be less sick people (and obese people)not to mention the piles of garbage.
I agree with one of the other commentors that being around germs helps your immune system. I taught school for 25 yrs. (4th grade). During that time I was seldom sick with the sore throats, flu, colds, etc. that the children had. I credit that to the fact that being around all that my immune system got used to those germs, and protected me.
I was always very careful about sterilising baby bottles until my baby daughter was one year old. Nevertheless one day she became quite ill. My family doctor gave me 'this look'. He said 'This is the first time Anna has met a germ and it knocked her for six. You are being overcareful - she has to build up immunity to germs, so cut out the sterilising! I took his advice and she's now as healthy as a horse.
Note: But the doctor is right about filthy movie theatres - I'm usually more worried about staining my clothing on those seats or getting gum on my shoes than actually picking up a virus. I do however avoid these places when they are crowded or the flu bug is around.
I liked what Anonymous said about "oversterilizing everything." As a singer, (and p.t. health professional) I am acutely aware of germs and hygiene habits.
I had a teacher who warned me about being over sensitive, a "germ-o-phobe," and who told me that indeed in order to build up an a stronger immunity to these "bugs" that one has to be exposed.
Case in point, my mom, a SCHOOL NURSE (of 24 years) and former HOSPITAL nurse. She hardly EVER EVER gets sick anymore. I shudder to think of the things she handles in the course of a day!
I agree with others about the non-HANDWASHING epidemic, or those "phoneys" who only dash their hands under the water and run! They creep me out almost as much as the non-washers!
Their ought to be MORE public shaming. (1/2 joking...) More "hidden-camera" type shows EXPOSING this type of behavior.
I actually went so far as to hang up hand-shaped signs in my freshman dorm. It was REPULSIVE! (E-coli anyone??? Staph?)
I read an article in a medical journal about the "Sterilite" sanitizing device, a device which cleans your environment 24 hours a day, and kills harmful germs and bacteria. It was the brain child of "We Think Inc"a think tank out of florida but I cant seem to find any information about the company or their device. Has anyone heard about this device or this company?
I really enjoy your comments on dirty places, I am living now in Chile, South america, and movie theaters are same thing everywhere, it´s always clean apparently but also is elsewhere. Thanks for writing with a bit of humor
Sergio Nazal
yeah there are dirty places, and the toilette stall it a bit nasty, BUT, using the wad of toilette paper to open the door when you're done? aren't you going to wash your hands anyhow? how about this, going to a mall and opening the door to get in? I also hate to mention, but there are more bacteria in your mouth than a sewer. Why not try living life instead of being scared of it? So what you might get sick once or twice, it's not THAT bad. just wash up. Oh and don't anti bacterial soaps kill the good bacteria on your hands as well?
Wow, since my last "cold"/"viral infection"/whatever-you-wan-to-call-it has lasted (on and off) over 3mos, I wonder if despite our best efforts things just happen sometimes.
I am almost religious about everything I touch! I always carry "clorox Wipe" to the store to wipe off the handle and the child seat areas and the top rim all around where I'm likely to touch the cart.
I use my elbow to open public swing doors or a coat sleeve to turn/pull on a handle that I cannot avoid. I wash my hands with soap almost EACH time I use the bathroom unless the soap run out!
I've been sick-free for many, many years, never needed a flu shot or none of that UNTIL this past flu season so far (Dec. 2006 - March 2007).
Any ideas why this is/was?
I'll be 40 in July if it's any help in surmising why I am stricken.
Let me tell you, in this article, I laughed and I mostly was able to relate to the topic and to your methods of avoiding contamination from the public restroom. Since I am a nursing student, that has instilled in me a healthy fear of microorgnaisms, especially those that lurk on the faucet knob and door handle. I totally agree with the whole "worthless hand dryers" also! I hate it when I see the enscription on then that says that they are MORE sanitary than paper towels!!! I'd like to know what enviromentalist nitwit came up with that and was able to put it on the product with no research to back up that statement! We all know that if he/she had done research, they would have found that touching the door with your bare freshly cleaned hand after someone else just flew out of the bathroom without washing theirs, you have just now contaminated your hands with the other persons POOPIE HANDS!!
If you are afraid you might accidentally touch a fat person, you should immediately remove yourself from the medical field. You are a fat-phobe, sir. your lack of compassion is probably quite evident to any overweight or fat patients you see in the office. I think you are afraid you might "catch" my fat.
If movie theaters are so germ-scary for you, you'd probably better not engage in sexual contact with anyone. It's pretty icky and germ-laden also. It might also keep your prim and prissy attitude from being passed on to offspring.
I agree with that being more aware of "our little friends:)is very important. Some are good others bad, just be aware. Here are some good things about certain microrganisms. Without (certain!!)
1.have no oxygen to breath
2.nothing to eat
3.not be able to utilize the energy in food even if we could eat it
4.not be able move about without constantly tripping over the bodies of dead organisms
Just some facts for thought. I'm one of those people that use the paper to open the door. (being I am a pre-med student). However, not all of the little guys are as bad as you might think. Good luck on your next trip to the dirty movie:)
Cheers
Oh, don't sit on that toilet... work those quads (I learned this from my granny) and just squat from a safe distance with a couple layers of paper over in case you lose your balance. The handicap stall is very handy for this maneuver.
I think some people are being overly sensitive. I am an obese person who has a tall torso, and I have to say that I only fly in planes in the window or aisle seat. And I cringe when I see another large person is sitting next to me. It is just physically uncomfortable and inconvienient. Nothing against larger people like myself. seats are just made to be one size fits all. The same is true of most theaters. And even though I am tall, I like to scrunch down at the theater like many other people. And I still want to see the movie.
So lets let the doctor off the hook. Most of us would rather not sit behind a tall big bunch of hair, or arm to arm with someone that we don't love or at least like quite a bit.
On a different note, I have met some pretty nice people while sharing the arm rest of some form of publc transportation, so good surprises happen when we least expect it.
Regarding the germ thing. I have had my share of microbiology classes, and I have to say that health departments should be regulating the cleaning of other things besides restaurants. Theater seat, grocery carts, school desks, drinking fountains, affor-mentioned public transportation seats, doors, rails, counters, the list goes on and on. Those nasty no-(or badly) -hand-washing types would do well to wash if for no other reason than to wash off the accumulation of germs they piled on throughout the day. And the soap is only so good, so give those hands a vigorous rub while you are at it.
Out of consideration for those people who are immuno-comprmised, the rest of us should limit our sharing to friendly smiles, nods and arm of the chair nuzzles. Let's keep our germs as much to ourselves as we can. - Cindy
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